Life at Fort Center

People of the Water: The Belle Glade Culture Historical Society of Palm Beach County

Life at Fort Center

Lesson Plan – by R.A. Birdie

Grades: 3-5

Student Target SS.3.G.4.2, MA.3.S.7.1, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.3.2 SS.4.A.2.1, VA.4.C.1.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.4.2 MA.5.A.4.2, VA.5.C.1.2, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.2

Materials: Teacher: copies of the worksheets, image, Venn diagram, and pie chart. Student: copies of the worksheets, image, Venn diagram, and pie chart.

Warm-up: The People of the Water, those native inhabitants who lived around Lake Okeechobee and up the Kissimmee River, built their villages along or on the vast wetlands of the Okeechobee region. Some villages were small, others much larger and still others complex ceremonial centers. Their homes were simple structures of wood poles covered with palm fronds. The chief’s home and ceremonial buildings were bugger than those of the villagers.

A vast variety of fish, fowl, mammals, deer, reptiles, and amphibians assured ample calories, although changes in water tables shifted hunting and fishing strategies on a seasonal basis. Hunting gear included bows and arrows, throwing spears (atlatl), and clubs. Fishing technology included lines, nets, entrapments, and weirs. Forays to the coast brought shark, shellfish, and other marine resources to the lake area. An archaeological assessment of animal bones at Fort Center indicates a high ratio of fish, but deer meat provided a large number of calories. Some historical records indicate the use of certain roots, possibly coontie (Zamia floridana, from which an arrowroot-like flour can be made), were important.

Vocabulary: Ample: enough or more than enough; plentiful. Atlatl: a device for throwing a spear, usually a flat wooden stick with a handhold and a peg or socket to accommodate the butt end of the spear. Butchered: slaughter or cutting up an animal for food. Consumed: To take in as food; eat or drink up.

Lesson: for this lesson use the image of the Fort Center village. Hunting and Gathering Your Meal The ancient Belle Glade people hunted and gathered many different types of foods to prepare and eat. Hunting wild game required the use of bows and arrows and spears which were thrown using a spear thrower called an atlatl. A spear with a notch at the one end was attached to the atlatl. The hunter’s hand grasped the spear and atlatl and using the atlatl as an extension of the throwing arm, the spear was launched towards its intended target. Using the atlatl, a spear was thrown farther and faster than just by the hand. The spear would have been used for larger

2013 Historical Society of Palm Beach County People of the Water

animals as well as the bow and arrow. After an animal, such as a deer, was killed, it was then butchered. All parts of the animal would have been used for food and other necessities. The hide for clothing and bags, bones used for pins, fish hooks, arrow and spear tips, sinew for thread and for wrapping the arrows, spears, and knives, and many other tools and weapons. While the men hunted, women gathered plant foods that included pond apples, coco plums, seagrapes, nuts and berries, roots including that of the coontie plant, and other plants. The root of the coontie required special processing because it is poisonous. The indigenous coontie plant was once found all over south Florida. The ancient Indians gathered the root of the coontie plant to make it into flour for bread. They had to process the root carefully. It was prepared by cutting the root into small pieces. The pieces were then put into a mortar and pounded into pulp. Water was added to the pulp and then squeezed out into another container. This water contained starch that would later become flour. The starch settled to the bottom of the container and the water was skimmed off the top as the starch fermented. Once all the water was gone, the pasty-starch was dried in the sun to become flour. The Indians then made the coontie flour into bread. Seminoles and Miccosukees, who arrived in the 1700s from Alabama and Georgia, also used the coontie plant to make flour for bread. Some of the foodstuffs gathered by the People of the Water include cocoplum, pond apple, saw palmetto, coontie roots, cabbage palm, Yaupon Holly, Prickly-Pear Cactus, Live Oak (acorns), and Hog-plum. Animals consumed by these people include deer, raccoon, opossum, mole, fox squirrel, muskrat, cotton rat, grey fox, blue goose, black vulture, bobcat, turkey, rabbit, alligator, turtles, snakes, frogs, different varieties of fish, and freshwater mollusks. As a whole, Belle Glade people generally did not eat birds. No evidence has been found at prehistoric sites in the Okeechobee area that the people ate wading birds such as ibises, herons, and egrets. It is possible that consuming these birds was a cultural taboo. Wading birds may have sacred to the Belle Glade Culture.

Reflection: Based on the lesson, explain how the People of the Water were able to survive.

Assessment: Student participation during discussions, completion of worksheet.

Enrichment: To learn more about the Native Americans who lived around Lake Okeechobee, visit the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum to see the special exhibit, The People of the Water: The Belle Glade Culture.

2013 Historical Society of Palm Beach County People of the Water

Worksheet: Ancient Life at Fort Center Have students complete the following questions as a group or individually. Have them analyze the image of the Fort Center village before they answer each question.

Look at the image of the Fort Center village. Record below what you see? ______

How did the People of the Water obtain their food? ______

Why do you think these people used nets? ______

Why do you think that the People of the Water hunted alligators? ______

How could alligators be used other than for food? ______

How did the People of the Water protect themselves? ______

Theorize about how did the People of the Water cook their meals? ______

2013 Historical Society of Palm Beach County People of the Water

What type of trees do you see in the picture? How might these trees be used as part of a hut or house? ______

Why do you think the People of the Water lived near water? ______

What type of transportation do you see in the picture? ______

2013 Historical Society of Palm Beach County People of the Water

Diet of the People of the Water Use the Pie Chart to answer the following questions.

What three animals make up 75% of the diet of the People of the Water? ______

Bird, frog, alligator, and snake make up what percentage of the ancient people’s diet? ______

Which animal represents the least eaten animal? ______

One of these animals was designated the Florida state reptile. Which animal is it? What three animals make up 75% of the diet of the People of the Water? ______

Which would be your least favorite food? Why? ______

2013 Historical Society of Palm Beach County People of the Water

Compare Ancient Life to Modern Life Use the Venn Diagram for the exercise.

Compare how your life is similar and/or different to of the People of the Water at the Fort Center Village

2013 Historical Society of Palm Beach County People of the Water

3% 7% 2% 25% 13%

25% 25%

2013 Historical Society of Palm Beach County People of the Water